The food. Holy fuck, the food. If Selene didn’t have a tingling bite from an alpha on her thigh that was still making her blood burn then she could’ve sworn she was in heaven.

Selene never cared about food, it was a means to an end, a by-product of survival instinct, but one meal from the wolves and she had changed her mind. Flavor burst in her mouth. A succulent piece of pork with loud crackling and mouthwatering apple sauce coated her tongue, and it was better than anything she ever tasted.

Selene moaned as it slid down her throat, closing her eyes to savor the taste. When she opened them, Ethan was smirking at her. she glared.

“Some of us don’t have the privileges of food with flavor,” selene snapped, embarrassed at the way I had fawned over the food like it was the first meal I’d ever had. selene asked.

In her eyes it was. The village did what they could and we weren’t starving, but it was always dry and not worth getting excited about.

Soggy veggies from the garden, dry meat from the slaughter hut, and some grown herbs that tried to cover the taste of it.

they got by, but the wolves? They got the best of everything: our best chickens, our best pigs, our best cows, and all their best garden growth.

It was all to go to the city, while they kept the leftovers, the ones the wolves would punish them for passing on. All the gross sh*t.

“Then enjoy.” He nodded toward the food.

selene wanted to push the plate away then, give in to my pride and refuse to do what she was told, but she was enjoying the food too much.

she dug in, scooping some mashed potatoes onto my plate and shoveling them into my mouth. she was disgusting, but she didn’t care.

If he was going to f*ck her anyway, then what should she care? Selene looked around the table. The girls were happy, eating as ferociously as me, drinking, laughing with each other. Had they forgotten what they were there for? she hadn’t.

selene peered up at Ethan who wasn’t eating. He was watching. Not just her, all the girls, especially the ones from his village. He looked at Cole and Zachary, who sat next to him, along the three-wide head of the table. They were eyeing the offerings too, and it made her nervous.

she didn’t mean to channel them, Selene wanted to know what they were thinking and why they weren’t eating. selene froze as her emotions blended into theirs. There was hunger there, but it wasn’t for food.

she looked down at my plate, clearing my throat, unmoving as their want became mine, their lust became mine. Behind that, though, was an urgency, a lingering taste of what I could only describe as anxiety.

selene frowned at that. They were nervous too? That made no sense, and they definitely didn’t look it.

“Stop it, Spitfire. Or I’m going to have to put you in time-out.” Braxton grinned, a hint of annoyance in his brow as he shoved me out of whatever emotions tainted my body.

I shuddered and went back to my own feelings, a sickness spreading in my stomach. I pushed my plate away, swallowing hard, ignoring the frowns from Nikolai and Derik.

“I can’t help it.” selene shrugged, but he just smiled. “Learn.”

“Why? You won’t see me past tomorrow, why does it matter what I feel inside you tonight?” I bit, and he laughed at that.

“I suppose it doesn’t.” He shook his head and took a sip of his wine.

selene took a sip of hers and had to admit, we made some great wine. Our village was known for it and supplied the werewolves. selene snuck some all the time, and the comfort from home made me feel better instantly. Ethan looked down at his watch then, before sighing and looking at the other two.

“It’s time,” he said, and they nodded once.

Cole stood first, walking down the table. The girls carried on as if he wasn’t behind them like a silent stalker, waiting to pounce.

He found a girl from the Forest village, one of his offerings, and bent over her, his hand landing on her shoulder. She jumped and looked up, shrinking back a little before her smile fell and she nodded. She stood up, tucking her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear. Derik kept her hand in his and led her through a door.

There were three of them, and Selene hadn’t even noticed them before. Each one had a gold plate on it, each alpha’s symbol on one of them. So those were the rooms.

selene looked over at Zachary, who was taking his offering to his room, disappearing inside.

she gulped, sipping more wine. Ethan scraped his chair back, then leaned down by my ear. “That’s your last drink,” he ordered, and selene scoffed.

“You’re about to get my p*ssy. You’re not telling me how many drinks I can have to get through that,” Selene hissed at him, and he scowled.

“So d*mn stubborn,” he breathed, pulling Selene's hair to the side, kissing her neck.

Selene's breaths turned shaky, her hand clutching the wine cup.

“Last drink, Selene Or I’ll tie your hands behind your back until it’s your turn,” he promised, and selene shivered at the idea of being tied up by him, not as much of a threat as he intended it.

He chuckled, probably sensing that.

“Why?” she asked.

“I don’t want you incoherent when I’m inside you.”

He walked off then, going to get Perfect Lucy while Selene took a gulp and watched him leave. It took seconds for the moaning to start. Then the gasping, the screaming, and then more moaning.

Selene's stomach turned at the noises. The other girls went quiet, enjoying their food in silence, drinking more wine as they pretended they couldn’t hear the noises.